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Hey peeps! So I would like to share to you my unboxing and trial of my newest camera: The Instax Mini 8 Limited Edition Hello Kitty Instant...

Monday, 20 August 2012

Featured Otaku: Bea Banagudos - A Vocaloid Fan

Another new topic for my blog, the featured Otaku will be like the Featured cosplayer. I will write a post about a cosplayer and an otaku every week. Expect to meet awesome cosplayers and otakus soon!

Bea, The Vocaloid Otaku
I know a little about Vocaloid. I heard a few songs by different vocaloids and even cosplayed a vocaloid character, Gakupo. But I never met another fan of these virtual idols... not until Bea came along.

Bea cosplaying Miki, a vocaloid character.

Vocaloid characters are usually misunderstood, especially in the cosplaying community. People would ask what anime or manga these characters came from and we would always explain what is Vocaloid.

To 'educate' us more about these amazing singing characters, here's a fan to answer a few frequently asked questions on Vocaloids.

Vocaloid is the short cut for Vocal Android. Basically, Vocaloid is a program. It’s a singing synthesizer software that creates voices (if you want to create your own Vocaloid), and (if you have a voice bank already, say Miku for example) makes your voice banks “sing”. How it works is that you input lyrics and melody into the program, position in which key you’d like it to fall, and voila! Press play and your vocaloid now “sings”. Each voice bank is represented by an anime character, that’s why Miku and the other Vocaloids have their anime forms.

Where did you learn about Vocaloid?

I was chatting with a friend of mine (Rain) on Yahoo Messenger (Yes, YM. And yes, it was WAAAAY BACK when I discovered Vocaloid lol) and he gave me a YouTube link of Megurine Luka’s Just Be Friends. I listened to that song and I immediately got hooked. I researched about Vocaloids after that (I NEVER KNEW about Vocaloids back then), and listened to a lot of their songs, and then later on I joined Vocaloid groups and subscribed to Vocaloid Rankings on YouTube (VocaRans for short. Yes, people, they exist. XD). I’ve been updated with the latest Vocaloid news and songs ever since.

Why love Vocaloid?

It’s amazing that a program such as Vocaloid could actually make people feel them. I have cried, laughed, danced, and sang Japanese songs because of Vocaloids, and they don’t even exist. They are THAT influencial. :’)

Who is your favorite Vocaloid and why?

Hard to choose… but Gumi will have to be on top of my list, next to Luka, Miku, and IA. Gumi has the most realistic voice of all Vocaloids; ANY genre suits her. Miku definitely fits all genres too, Luka sings the most amazing Jazz songs, and IA does the most awesome Vocaloid covers (A Vocaloid covering a Vocaloid song! HAHA!)

Favorite Vocaloid song (and maybe something about it):

Wow. So many to choose from. ;A; But Breath of Mechanical (JimmythumbP) by Miku Hatsune (Bet you haven’t heard of it, have you? XP) will have to be my favorite song. ;3 I literally cried when I first heard it, not because it’s a sad song, but it sounds like a song of hope. When I knew the lyrics’ translation, it WAS about hope! Sorta… LOL. It’s a story of a damaged robot wanting to feel the world, but he can’t because he’s metal. But Miku made a way to make him feel. Lyrics’ translation goes like this:

In the middle of a snowfallI saw you standing aloneIn an unconscious coldnessI saw you gone astrayAt the back of a heartless townI softly held your rusty handWhat can this confused person's handOffer to give you?The boy has worn mechanical eyes but forgot to wear a smiling faceIf that's so then piling up all its emotions will make it a perfect body.You know, these old memories,Throw them away before waking upSo that this clear singing voiceWill not vanishThe boy's mechanical hands can't feel warmth just like thisIf that's so then a tight embrace and tears will make it a perfect body.Don't worry, those arms, feet, even those small eyes and mouthYou can move them as you like, right?Go on, sing.The boy saw the world and an avalanche of emotions swirled in himAnd thus in nonsensical words, the song of our beginnings was spun

It’s a really nice song, plus a really nice message as well.

Favorite Vocaloid video (and maybe something about it):

Two-faced Lovers (Wowaka) by Miku Hatsune. Seriously it is the most… Well, how do I put it, REALISTIC video ever. =)) You should know why when you watch it. XP Really great song too.

Complete this sentence: Because of Vocaloid, I...

Met a lot of other Vocaloid fans, learned many names of many Vocaloid authors/producers, learned Japanese a little LOL, cosplayed a Vocaloid (Mafia theme) with my other cosplay friends, became an admin of a Vocaloid page, and became my friends’ Vocaloid consultant LOL. XD

Anything else you want to add:

Vocaloid is NOT an anime. :))

Another photo of Bea cosplaying Miki

I say the last part is the best one. People would always ask "From what anime is vocaloid?" I think at least this part is clear to all people out there: Vocaloid is not an anime or anything else.